The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

Current and former officials with direct knowledge of the situation say the CIA has been asked to deliver options to the White House for a wide-ranging “clandestine” cyber operation designed to harass and “embarrass” the Kremlin leadership.

The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation. Former intelligence officers told NBC News that the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We’re sending a message” to Putin that “it will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact,” Vice President Joe Biden “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd on Friday.

NBC added:

When asked if the American public will know a message was sent, the vice president replied, “Hope not.”

Retired Admiral James Stavridis told NBC News’ Cynthia McFadden that the U.S. should attack Russia’s ability to censor its internal internet traffic and expose the financial dealings of Putin and his associates.

The hacks have largely targeted individuals and entities associated with the Democratic Party.

The fallout forced former Democratic Party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to announce her resignation just before the party’s national convention last month. Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, called the ongoing cyber breaches “an electronic Watergate break-in,” and a “sad course of events” for the party and the nation.

Information gleaned from those security breaches has been published by Wikileaks and, at times, cited by Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.

Ultimately, NBC said, Obama will have to decide if the operation goes forward.

“Officials told NBC News that for now there are divisions at the top of the administration about whether to proceed,” NBC added.

One has to wonder: Does Barack Obama really want to go to war with Russia to prop up the Democratic Party?